Back in December at the urgin of my daughter, I got back into archery after a gap of probably 15 years. The only bow I had was a Martin Damon Howatt Hunter recurve. It pulls 55 lbs. at 28" and after such a long lapse in shooting a bow, I was seriously overbowed with it. So, I got a 40 lb. Magyar horse bow from Seven Meadows Archery that I've been shooting for the past three months.

Tonight after work I decided to give the old Martin a try. First, I put on a new Bear Hair arrow rest, to replace the old piece of moleskin that was on the shelf. As soon as I drew my first arrow, I knew that this would take a lot more effort than the lighter horse bow. Fifteen pounds may not seem like much but in the case of a stick bow, it is. That said, I was able to do four rounds of 11 arrows each before calling it quits. If I had not been shooting the lighter bow lately, I don't think I would have been able to shoot the heavier Martin nearly as many times. Shooting the horse bow definitely helped get my back and shoulder muscles back into shooting shape.

The modern recurve is an interesting contrast to the more primitive horse bow. The Martin, with its center shot riser and pistol grip with an arrow rest is much easier to shoot consistently than the non-center shot horse bow that you shoot off the knuckle. The Martin is also noticely smoother shooting, lacking the shock that you feel when the horse bow's siyahs spring forward.

The Martin seems to shoot a bit faster than the SMA horse bow, but it's not an apples-to-apples comparison. I'm shooting some old Easton Aluminum 2117 arrows in the recurve, while I'm using Port Orford Cedar arrows from 3 Rivers Archery with the horse bow. I'm using a target which can stop crossbow bolts and the arrows from the recruve don't seem to penetrate more than those from the lighter bow, but they do make a louder thwack when they hit. I'm certain that with a good broadside hit and a sharp broadhead, the Howatt Hunter would have no problem shooting clear through a whitetail.

This group isn't anything to brag about, but I plan to get a lot more practice in with the Martin. As I get back to shooting strength I expect my shooting to improve.